Virtual reality can be used for all sorts of things, such as playing games, watching movies, making art, medical procedures, and now it seems that virtual reality can also be used to help solve crime. Over in Germany, authorities have taken advantage of the technology to catch and prosecute the last surviving Nazi war criminals.

How does this work? Basically using VR technology, it allowed for a 3D version of the Auschwitz concentration camp to be created. Based on this, investigators were able to explore the complex virtually and to determine if people working at the camps really did not know what was going on, which is apparently a very common defense.

According to Jens Rommel, head of the federal office that investigates Nazi war criminals, “It has often been the

From the time Bethlehem Township police Cpl. Shaun Powell posted the photo on Facebook — a crinkled piece of the hit-and-run driver’s truck identifiable only by a partial logo that said “over 45 years experience” — it took only minutes for someone to crack the case.

A reply to the post, in March 2015, alerted township police to the business whose trucks fit the look of the crumpled metal remnant. Powell posted an updated photo later that day when authorities tracked down the damaged vehicle.

“In 12 minutes we solved a mystery hit-and-run. It’s amazing,” Powell said. “And all we had to do is post it. The takeaway for me is that [social media] is totally worth it.”

Police departments, long dependent on traditional media outlets to distribute crime news, can now take the information straight to residents. Powell said Bethlehem Township authorities have found Facebook to be especially good when it comes

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Most Wanted list is celebrating 65-years of successfully capturing the most hideous criminals in America’s history.

Notorious FBI director J. Edgar Hoover instituted the most wanted list in 1950, after a reporter asked the bureau to provide a list of names and descriptions of the “toughest guys” that the agency wanted to capture. After the public showed intense interest in the resulting story, Hoover decided to act and publish a formal list.

Since its inception, the FBI most wanted list has featured 504 fugitives from the law — eight of whom are women — with 473 (94 percent) captured or located. Out of that number, 155 (31 percent) have been found with the public’s assistance, a key element of the list.